The Chinese New Year of the Snake will begin early in January 2025. In the West, many noticed that Christmas-related merchandise arrived as early as September and Black Friday began very early in November (despite falling at the end of the month). Lengthening the campaigns might have been an effective way of strengthening their impact, as China also saw the longest-ever Double 11 shopping festival this year. Therefore, there is little surprise that we are already seeing a Year of the Snake campaign now from the Chinese fragrance brand To Summer.
On 24 November, To Summer unveiled its Year of the Snake collection called Free and Easy Wandering. The limited-edition collection and gift set take inspiration from Chinese classics such as Zhuangzi and The Classic of Mountain and Seas, as well as traditional folk beliefs where the snake is a sign of auspiciousness. The collection includes 4 limited-edition fragrances, 2 returning classics and 2 brand-new designs and will go on sale on 1 December as a gift set. To Summer is also building (what they call “probably”) the world’s largest copy of The Classic of Mountain and Seas with traditional Xuan paper. Between 7 December and 2 February, two special exhibitions will be launched in Beijing and Shanghai.
Snakes sometimes have negative connotations and symbolism. However, To Summer uses classics to find new interpretations such as its free and easy spirit. By going to Xuancheng for authentic Xuan paper, the campaign also incorporates intangible cultural heritage (ICH) elements to it.
Meanwhile, To Summer’s rival and fellow investee of L’Oréal Group DOCUMENTS launched a red house pop-up on the Bund in Shanghai at the end of October, which will stand until March, across Double 11, Christmas, New Year, Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day and International Women’s Day. It is interesting to see how adaptive the colour red is in a festive context.
As a footnote, I need to clarify that some international brands do begin Lunar New Year campaigns at the end of the year to accommodate the Japanese market where the traditional New Year celebrations have been moved to coincide with the New Year in the Gregorian calendar since its Westernisation years over 150 years ago.
